Sharone Mitchell Jr., who took over the public defender’s office in April, hopes to add more attorneys and work with community groups fighting for racial justice and systemic change.
A fair and equitable justice system depends on the public defenders whose job it is to represent those people who cannot afford a lawyer. Public defense work is civil rights work. It is the public defender who raises questions about interrogation methods, unlawful police stops, and excessive bail. It is also racial justice work. Nowhere is racial injustice more apparent than in the impact our criminal laws have had on people of color, particularly Black people.